| Poker tournaments are the latest
craze in Internet poker. With the recent airing of the WSOP World
Series of Poker, there has been a recent surge in the sheer amount
of players online. Choosing the right Internet poker tournament to
play should be done using all the factors that come into play. The
following is a brief description of the elements to consider when
playing. Tournament Type
There are several types of tournaments to play poker on the
internet. The most popular is the multi table tournament or MTT.
This structure allows for thousands of players to participate, each
buyin into the tournament for anywhere from $1 - $600 dollars. This
format is similar to the tourneys seen on TV and are the most
popular. The next tournament type is the sit and go or SNG, this
involves a predetermined amount of players usually from 6 to 10. The
tournament starts as soon as all the seats are taken. The most
popular are 10 seat tournaments that payout the top 3 positions, 50%
of the prize pool going to the winner, 30% for 2nd place, and 20%
for 3rd.
Blind Structure
To really find the right tournament for you, review the blind
structure of the tournament. This will let you know how many
starting chips you get, the different blind levels (antes) and how
often they got up in levels (typically every 20 minutes). There are
variation from poker room to poker room, some sites also have a
turbo format where blinds increase quicker. Other structures have a
deep stack format where you would get 3 times the starting chip
count than typical tourneys. As you can see there is a wide variety,
pay attention to the structure to find the poker tournament that
best suits you playing style.
Quantity / Quality of Players
Internet poker tournaments take patience and concentration, the
more players in the tournament, the tougher it is to make it into
the money. Also, I you are playing with more skilled players, you
will have to be more on guard as they are more likely to bluff. Our
advice regarding players is search around for best combination of
limited players and inexperience. Once you become more comfortable,
you can go for the more high risk / high return tournaments. |
